The Children’s Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers and institutions dedicated to the academic study of literature for children. For our members, children’s literature includes books, films, and other media created for, or adopted by, children and young adults around the world, past, present, and future.

In my words, the ChLA is an association of my kind of nerd. It’s a group of people who devote huge portions of their lives (if not just their lives) to studying children’s and young adult literature because they love it. Every year in June they hold annual conference where members come together and share their current research. It’s a big deal, and you have to be accepted on the basis of your abstract (or paper summary) to be able to present.

And I’m presenting.

This, actually, makes two conferences at which I am presenting my thesis work. (You know, the one about Throne of Glass, female assassins and YA publishing that I summarized here.) The first is the Whalen Undergraduate Academic Conference, which is an Ithaca College thing for undergrads. Now that’s also really cool, but ChLA is a real, adult opportunity and I CRIED WHEN I GOT THE EMAIL.

If you watch any Bibliomancy for Beginners, you might also get a kick out the fact that Taylor and I are both presenting at both of these conference. GO US.

I’m really, really, really excited about this, guys. So excited. And so proud and so shocked and a million other emotions. I am the kind of person who gets confused when other people think I am doing something worthwhile because, well, the things I do for myself tend to be all about my passions.